Klarinet Archive - Posting 000317.txt from 2004/11

From: kurtheisig@-----.net
Subj: Re: [kl] pitch standard
Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2004 06:57:34 -0500

hmmm, replying to myself......

The point I had started was that ---and I don't know where I filed my article---in the 20's??--- at an international conference on pitch, everyone went home disagreeing. It was left that in America ORCHESTRA would be 440 and band 439. NOW what is impossible is the situation we have in this area, that many of the bands are tuning to 442(!!!) with instruments made to 440. There are some really mis-guided reasons (excuses?) for this. I have played in bands at 439, 440, and 442 and band pitch of 439 is VERY satisfactory! I was not talking about one player playing out of tune, but rather, a pitch center of 439.

Then, there was the local chamber orchestra with the young oboist INSISTING that her reed was MADE to play 440, and merrily honked along at 446-7!!! I CHEERFULLY volunteered to replace myself on 1st clarinet and fill the missing bassoonist's chair with my bari sax!

The story goes that Haynes flutes from the 30's were pitched at 435 and that later they merely "chopped" the heads shorter, until the mid '70's when the Cooper scale came along. Anyone have more detail on that?

Kurt

-----Original Message-----
From: kurtheisig@-----.net
Sent: Nov 8, 2004 2:36 AM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: Re: [kl] pitch standard

Makes a HUGE difference in a band!

-----Original Message-----
From: Fred <fred.sheim@-----.net>
Sent: Nov 7, 2004 5:21 AM
To: klarinet@-----.org
Subject: Re: [kl] pitch standard

Can anyone really hear the difference between 439 and 440?

Fred

At 03:27 AM 11/7/2004, you wrote:
>When I opened my store in 1968, catalogs had two sets of tuning forks. The
>orchestral forks had a=440, the band forks were a=439. With the coming of
>cheap electronic tuners from Japan, the standard was a=440 ~ 1972?
>Later these companies started introducing them with a variable a=440 up to
>a=447. Still later they added a static a=435 switch. later Korg came out
>with a wonderful tuner that went from a=435 up to a=447.
>
>We tune the Hastings Band to a=439-----BAND PITCH!
>
>Kurt
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: David Renaud <manonrivet@-----.ca>
>Sent: Nov 6, 2004 10:13 AM
>To: klarinet@-----.org
>Subject: Re: [kl] pitch standard
>
>Joseph H. Fasel, Ph.D. wrote.........
>
>Let me rephrase: There is only one INTERNATIONAL musical-pitch
>standard. It's a pity that some European orchestras don't seem
>to see the value in complying with it.
>----------------------------------------------------
>Interesting................
>
>I have a client with a 1927 Chickering 7 foot grand piano.
>made in the good old US of A.
>
>Embossed in the cast iron plate is
>INTERNATIONAL STANDARD PITCH A435
>
> Cheers
> Dave Renaud
>
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Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org

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Klarinet is a service of Woodwind.Org, Inc. http://www.woodwind.org